5/5 Mifune in a Hitchcockian Buddy Movie
  by Conroca (Okinawa)
LOVED this . . . Tokyo when it was a sweaty, seedy, devastated post-war shadow of its past (and future) self.

Toshiro Mifune as a rookie half who's managed to lose his weapon on a bus. His elders surprise him as they accept that he made a mistake and work with him to track the gun; shock him as they flirt with women of ill repute as they work the case; and eventually teach the rookie to balance humanity and emotional distance. The inklings of the moves that would eventually become iconic, as Mifune rubs his chin in confusion, scratches the back of his head in embarrassment, strides with that loose-legged walk across a field.

The glimpse into immediate post-war Japan, the fantastic cinemagraphy, juxtaposition between a major baseball game and the hunt for a fugitive, all make it a pleasure to watch--even if you don't have a crush on the 20-something Mifune.



5/5 Great Movie< One of the Best !!!!!
  by Dr. Tumbleweed (miami,fl)
This is a great movie, one you have to get. The story is great, the characters fantastic, and the filming is nice as well. The story is a knock out. You can help but get caught up in the drama of the cop who lost his gun. Get it and enjoy.

5/5 Stray Dog
  by John Farr
Landmark, atmospheric Japanese noir helped cement Kurosawa's reputation as a director to watch. Not only is "Dog" a satisfying thriller, it exposes the thin line between a vengeful cop and his base and desperate prey. Superb film also fascinates in capturing a scarred Tokyo in the wake of the Second War.

5/5 This should be hackneyed by now
  by Opinion_Sharer (Kinderhook, NY United States)
I've seen many of Kurosawa's films and I'd have to say that this one is my favorite. You might think you've seen every permutation of the detective story that compares the cop to the criminal but this movie is surprisingly fresh and engaging. Cultural differences and the setting of post-war Japan add a little extra to a typical Noir story arc. The familiar themes make this one of Kurosawa's most approachable films even while it holds and rewards your attention.


4/5 To Make A Mends
  by Aco
In the post WWII environment of Japan, the line between becoming a criminal and a cop was a very thin one. The prospect of upholding any myths or nationalistic fervor must have been slim for soldiers returning home, after a brutal war, one which ended in the most barbaric of ways, and effectively castrated and humiliated a proud and rigid culture. A lifetime of pride in your homeland could evaporate as quickly as a backpack being stolen...
In Stray Dog, master Kurosawa wastes no time in setting up the film's one story line, that of rookie detective Murakami, who on a sweltering and packed bus loses his gun. For the new detective, a former soldier, the transition between war and domestic soldiering proves the mettle of the film, and the depth of it's story comes in that difficult place. Unfamiliar with procedure, departments, as well as the in's-and-out's of Tokyo's underworld, the search for his strength, his pride, his manhood, etc., will define him, make him or break him.
With the dogged leadership of veteran cop Sato, Murakami's mentor in this pursuit, he recognizes the significance of his position, seeing himself and perhaps allowing for hope in a fractured society.
Toshiro Mifune, legend, is Murakami, frazzled, humiliated, frequently an emotive wreck. Though an early sequence in which he goes undercover as a soldier to search out black market guns-a long sequence that is completely without speaking-is beautiful and powerful in it's exposure of the seamy world of desperate people, "stray dogs" who suffer the dregs of a crowded uncomfortable world. Takashi Shimura is Sato, the other lead, and his presence is a strong, calming one, as the knowing cop, the rudder perhaps, to Murakami's windy sail.
An interesting deep cop film, it is very stylish, naturalistically made and acted, though it's print is visibly aged, it's shadows seem to be less sharp than a noir, allowing for the light to get in.